I like alot of Bujus stuff and he killed it at Sierra in 08. But his voice can be just terrible. Plus he is getting fan support even after becoming a criminal. I can name 50 - 100 artists I would rate over Gargasmell.

Personality and shenanigans aside, I would not consider Rita Marley overrated in the least. True, she bears a last name that virtually automatically qualifies her for such a list BUT Harambe is a GREAT album imo...

QuoteDaniel
Personality and shenanigans aside, I would not consider Rita Marley overrated in the least. True, she bears a last name that virtually automatically qualifies her for such a list BUT Harambe is a GREAT album imo...

he might be overrated according to some, but niceness just the same, and a rebel foreal. he did his thing and didnt let the popular styles dictate his direction, im sure my san diego heads will agree, i grew up on eekamouse in southeast sd before i knew what reggae really was. it was just ghetto music as a child. i have always noticed that in the norcal area though, he doesnt get much love. wild personality but those vibes, cant deny it. in the video, its just silence when hes on the stage and he walks off to cheers and whistles...roots.

he might be overrated according to some, but niceness just the same, and a rebel foreal. he did his thing and didnt let the popular styles dictate his direction, im sure my san diego heads will agree, i grew up on eekamouse in southeast sd before i knew what reggae really was. it was just ghetto music as a child. i have always noticed that in the norcal area though, he doesnt get much love. wild personality but those vibes, cant deny it. in the video, its just silence when hes on the stage and he walks off to cheers and whistles...roots.

yes.. eek is definetly a san diego fav... everyday when running the skyline, paradise hills, spring valley streets, one can be sure to hear:

QuoteDanny Crucial
I can agree with most of your points. Although i was his biggest advocate on this board Albo has become stagnent and at times annoying to me.

I've always been a big Albo advocate, loved his set in 2010, but at the same time I think he really needs to do step up and do big things with his next album or he may see his music losing interest amongst some of his fans. I have faith tho....

Yes Eek-a-mouse made a big impact years ago and will always have a place in the books....most of these artists have been significant....except for Big Mountain and Jahsun. .I think your list would be more accurately depicted as top 10 over-rated live acts...Even Shaggy and Elephant Man have had a few crucial singles (through the bombing-Elephant Man) (Hear my Cry- Shaggy). Vybz has got nice style I just wish he had something to say...U can't take away from Beenie he has plenty of good tracks to pick from.

Pato Banton is nothing short of horrid.
Collie Buddz bites the big one.
I love some Fantan Mojah but sometimes I'm like damn can't this dude come with some different lyrics
Richie Spice used to be dope, he fell off and I heard he's the biggest elfin prick in the entire industry.
Bounty Killer is allright but if you look to yard some people worship him as the godfather, perplexing.

Nomo- I had never seen Alborosie live until last month at the New parish. I came away very impressed, dude has skills! Seemed very charismatic and seems to enjoy himself. You might want to give him another chance!

Quotestrikkly
Pato Banton is nothing short of horrid.
Collie Buddz bites the big one.
I love some Fantan Mojah but sometimes I'm like damn can't this dude come with some different lyrics
Richie Spice used to be dope, he fell off and I heard he's the biggest elfin prick in the entire industry.
Bounty Killer is allright but if you look to yard some people worship him as the godfather, perplexing.

i always see these reports of such n such artist coming off as arrogant. i wonder if this perception is just a difference in culture.. social interactions..

i notice many west indians dont talk too much .. or like to answer too many questions.. especially when there are others around who are considered outsiders..

Sadly, of late Ziggys material has been substandard considering what we know he can do, and the ease with which he can call on any musician to help out. Makes me long for "Children Playin in the Street" from 1980s

i prefer shaka zulu pickney reggae.. music with soul and that spiritual fire...

I disagree for two reasons, house of Shem and Fiji. But as stated above this thread is very subjective. I feel that poly reggae has a lot of talented singers.musicians and performers and they love all reggae there as well as we should.

QuoteJ_72
Can we define "overrated"? It seems to be a subjective word. If a band has a large audience, they are usually doing something right, but because I do not care for them I can say they are overrated.

Im under the impression there is no true defintion. I think you nailed it with " subjective". Ratings are purely the opinions of individuals or groups are they not?

go back in time with me, circa 1999-2000... hollywood park casino... sizzla and capleton on tour... from that point on you would never be able to make up your mouth to say over-rated and sizzla in the same sentence.

QuoteDanny Crucial
I like alot of Bujus stuff and he killed it at Sierra in 08. But his voice can be just terrible. Plus he is getting fan support even after becoming a criminal. I can name 50 - 100 artists I would rate over Gargasmell.

I like a his mellower stuff (Til Shiloh, HIlls & Valleys, etc) - but when he gets in the "bump, bump - bump, bump" mode I loathe so much, he reminds me a slightly more entertaining version of Capleton. Overrated - yes.

"I'm gonna put on a iron shirt, and chase the devil out of earth" - Max Romeo

QuoteReggabe
"Jeff, too me midnites audience is bigger than it should be, so therefore they are overrated.. I think when something is a trend it's overrated.."

pretty ignorant statement....

Iriebarto made it a POINT to let us know this is his opinion ("too (sic) me" "I think" ). Why would you reggaebe say someones opinion is ignorant? Your statement is pretty ignorant. Believe it or not, there are many who do not think midnite is the greatest reggae group ever or whatever it is that you midnite koolade drinkers think. Get over it. not buying into the midnite culture does not make us haters or ignorant.

saying Midnite's popularity is just a passing trend is the ignorant part. I don't care if you like em or not, but their music speaks to my, and many others, heart and soul. That's why I like them, and no it's not just a trend...

and don't say I'm some sort of Kool-aid drinker, that's offensive and yes, ignorant. I've been listing to reggae music for almost 30 years, and Midnite is for REAL!

Quotenomotrouble
Alborosie, i just don't feel him. Like his band. But he's overrated.

Agreed, amen.

I'm a strictly roots guy...I'm not into what I call "stress hall" (dancehall) at all. Old school dancehall (70s-80s)...different story. I'm talking about the new age screaming and jumping. When a Capleton, a Sizzla, an Elephant Man are on stage...I'm taking a break in the motor home, sippin on a cold one.

QuoteReggabe
saying Midnite's popularity is just a passing trend is the ignorant part. I don't care if you like em or not, but their music speaks to my, and many others, heart and soul. That's why I like them, and no it's not just a trend...

and don't say I'm some sort of Kool-aid drinker, that's offensive and yes, ignorant. I've been listing to reggae music for almost 30 years, and Midnite is for REAL!

I first saw them at ROTR in 2004 and I was very impressed and into it. Here we are in 2013...9 years since they drew a huge crowd at ROTR...if that's a trend...it's the longest trend I've ever heard of.

Always will be a fan of the man Pato, as he was part of my growing up in the reggae vibe,. so to speak. Bought his album "Never Give in" at Marcus garvey Records in Austin, Tx 1987, and during that same period, always stoked when the fave locals, The Killer Bees, would cover his 'King Step' during their live shows.... Roger Steffens came all the way up from LA to Ladysmith, British Columbia to intro Pato's set at the Reggae on the Island fest in 1994. As Dub guy says, he is the real deal, at least to us older dreadys.

I say... Some Never Plant yet want to Reap,
Be careful, try to look before you leap;
Took a little walk from my Vineyard...
Now I'm all alone..

Quotepapaken
Always will be a fan of the man Pato, as he was part of my growing up in the reggae vibe,. so to speak. Bought his album "Never Give in" at Marcus garvey Records in Austin, Tx 1987, and during that same period, always stoked when the fave locals, The Killer Bees, would cover his 'King Step' during their live shows.... Roger Steffens came all the way up from LA to Ladysmith, British Columbia to intro Pato's set at the Reggae on the Island fest in 1994. As Dub guy says, he is the real deal, at least to us older dreadys.

Quotepapaken
Always will be a fan of the man Pato, as he was part of my growing up in the reggae vibe,. so to speak. Bought his album "Never Give in" at Marcus garvey Records in Austin, Tx 1987, and during that same period, always stoked when the fave locals, The Killer Bees, would cover his 'King Step' during their live shows.... Roger Steffens came all the way up from LA to Ladysmith, British Columbia to intro Pato's set at the Reggae on the Island fest in 1994. As Dub guy says, he is the real deal, at least to us older dreadys.

Here Here!

Agreed, I am of the high school class of 90 and pato and king yellow man were the soundtrack to my late teens to early 20's. the aforementioned live from the Fillmore albumn stayed bumping in my ride and house for several years. I understand he may not be for everyone but who is? Roger Stephan's, is he the same as rankin roger?

Different Roger. Steffens is, among other things, the brain to pick on all things Bob Marley. He used to have a HUGE collection of Bob/reggae material (The Ras Rojah Reggae Archives), but I believe he sold it off to a Bob museum? He sold it to someone anyway, wanted room to live in his house again if I remember correctly...

Oh - and he was responsible, along with a few posters on this board, for the Beat mag and the Reggae Beat radio show way back when

"I'm gonna put on a iron shirt, and chase the devil out of earth" - Max Romeo

I met and reasoned with Pato and his band in '90 on the UW Madison Union Terrace and gotta say, they rocked the lakeside that sunny, bliss-filled day. His band from London was top notch, and his trombonist Stephen was a terrific bandleader and super nice guy. They were steppa's, in the real sense of the word.

Pato's always been a pleasant and cordial guy since, when we've run into each other over the years at shows and clubs. Last time I saw him about ten years back. He comped me in after I ran into him that afternoon wandering around downtown. That was a pretty good, though somewhat repetitive, show. Too much sing along arm-waving for me, but still all right.

When I left, he was ministering to a group of about 30 folks after the show in the lot behind the Catalyst at 2:15 am. Giving love, getting love. Pato-style.

Have not seen him in years but I give the man credit for keepin on keepin on.

Not tryin to beat a dead horse here. Very glad to see there are many a Pato Banton backer here. I just couldn't believe a poster above could rate him "nothing short of horrid"...had to defend. You kidding me??

However, just to defend the man, his skills, and his love towards fans and his fellow man and woman (inna time when there's a lot of beef). About 5-6 years ago...there was a free festival at The Canyons in Park City, UT with Pato headlining. Right before Pato went on, a big thunderhead rolled in and it started pouring...everyone fled to the bars surrounding the Pavilion, myself included. But seeing as how we'd all had more than a few Red Stripes that day, a small crew of about 8 of us went out and kind of did a little "anti-rain" dance, some smoke, and a laugh...mid way through, a man rolled up to us and joined the circle...it was Pato Banton... needless to say, we were all surprised and shook hands....then he proceeded to start skanin down freestyle with rhymes about the rain and the lovely Utah mountains...so fizuckin cool. He hung out for a good 10 mins and then it started to clear up...about 1/2 hour later..it cleared up, was warm... a beautiful sunset, and Pato performed on point.

Yes treez auto-tune is over rated . I can't believe Michael rose used it. He has the greatest voice. Is there such a thing as trendy in reggae? Only if u put pon MTV. Therefor matisyahu as mtvs experiment in over- promoting

I'm pretty sure that in a few years, autotune will become an indicator of the era it appears in...much like when people hear the syndrum on a reggae record, they think "oh, late 70s"...in other words it'll soon date itself. My problem with it is that it removes the character from voices and makes every singer sound basically the same, like they got ****ed by R2D2.

I rate Pato Banton. Like others, I have been listening to Pato since Hip Hop Lyrical Robot on UB40's Little Baggariddim. He has flow without doubt. Over the last few years, I have had the pleasure of opening for him twice. Whilst he could use more new tunes in his set, he has great hits that many can sing word for word and absolutely knows how to connect with his audience and bring up the vibes with his stage presence. Last time I opened for him, he set up the soundboard himself just for fun. It was kool having him as my sound guy. He is always smiling, rarely stressed and a genuine nice guy. Not to mention his band totally kicks ass.

how is Shaggy overrated? If you sell multiple millions of records you can't really be overrated. Same question with Sean Paul. Collie Buddz? IF by over rated you mean they have more fans then their talent level suggests I would say that is nonsense.

Buju Banton is over rated?... "there are 50 -100 artists I would rate over him... "

Who is rating these people? Danny no offense but all you did was put together a list of artist that a lot of other people whose sounds you don't particularly like. I just don't know how an artist who has voiced as many hit songs as SP and SHAGGY have would be considered underrated. I don't dig Mariah Carey but she isn't overrated.

IMO....SP and Shaggy both rate in the JA dancehll as does the 5 Star General Bounty Killer....the legendary EEK and a number of the other artists you do not rate.

PS... aritst I don't rate are groups or individuals who put our one record 40 years ago and because they are obscure somehow they are rated higher than artist who have a massive pop following.... I have said it many times before, unless your last name is Marley, the so called reggae fan will turn on you the minute you start selling records to the "pop" crowd.

how is Shaggy overrated? If you sell multiple millions of records you can't really be overrated.

Disagree with you here Ninja. Bad art needs to be called out just like a bad philosophy. Just because someone 'rates' with a heck of a lot of people doesn't make it good. Overrated and bad generally do go hand in hand, at least with most on this board, I believe.

I say... Some Never Plant yet want to Reap,
Be careful, try to look before you leap;
Took a little walk from my Vineyard...
Now I'm all alone..

This guy is a no talent ass clown that couldn't formulate an English sentence if he tried, let alone piece together a meaningful rhyme. The fact that this guy is popular, sells albums, and sells out shows is a clear indication of the deterioration of our society. I know, I know....old folks (I'm not too old..heh heh) have been saying this for generations. But the Stones, Zeppelin, etc, etc weren't singing about giving chicks roofies and raping them like Lil POS Wayne does. If you're bored, just check out some of his lyrics and you will see what a low IQ, ignorant, waste of space this fool is. Tupac is turning over in his grave.

Quotejcom
Not tryin to beat a dead horse here. Very glad to see there are many a Pato Banton backer here. I just couldn't believe a poster above could rate him "nothing short of horrid"...had to defend. You kidding me??

However, just to defend the man, his skills, and his love towards fans and his fellow man and woman (inna time when there's a lot of beef). About 5-6 years ago...there was a free festival at The Canyons in Park City, UT with Pato headlining. Right before Pato went on, a big thunderhead rolled in and it started pouring...everyone fled to the bars surrounding the Pavilion, myself included. But seeing as how we'd all had more than a few Red Stripes that day, a small crew of about 8 of us went out and kind of did a little "anti-rain" dance, some smoke, and a laugh...mid way through, a man rolled up to us and joined the circle...it was Pato Banton... needless to say, we were all surprised and shook hands....then he proceeded to start skanin down freestyle with rhymes about the rain and the lovely Utah mountains...so fizuckin cool. He hung out for a good 10 mins and then it started to clear up...about 1/2 hour later..it cleared up, was warm... a beautiful sunset, and Pato performed on point.

Love this guy...

What a great story! Thanks for sharing! Bagga (Baggariddim) and I have had a lot of interactions with him. Bagga booked him to speak to and perform for the kids at the school where he teaches a couple years ago. It was such a positive experience for the kids and staff. I'll never forget the time in SF a few years ago we were in line at The Independent waiting for doors to open for a Pato Banton show. We were, as always, very early and the only ones in line at that point. It was a very cold evening and we were freezing! Pato came out of the venue and asked if we were ok. He offered to let us sit in his rv where it was warm while he continued to set up for the show. We could have been anybody, he didn't know us at the time. What a nice, caring gesture. Don't have a bad word to say about the man. Great performer and super talented band.